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UCLA Basketball Players Arrested in China

Three UCLA basketball players who were accused of shoplifting in China are now under investigation. Robert Kovacik reports for the NBC4 News at 11 on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017. (Published Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017)

The UCLA basketball team is heading back to Los Angeles without three players arrested on shoplifting charges in China, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Saturday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. NBC News has not independently confirmed the report. UCLA Athletics did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Freshmen LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Hill and Cody Riley were to remain in Hangzhou, China, while the rest of the team was due back Saturday night. Ball is the brother of Los Angeles Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball.

UCLA didn't immediately respond to a request for comment by the AP.

No. 21 UCLA won its season-opening game 63-60 over Georgia Tech in Shanghai earlier Saturday.

The trio was questioned by police about allegedly stealing from a Louis Vuitton store next to the team's hotel in Hangzhou last week, where the Bruins visited before leaving for Shanghai.

Citing a source with firsthand knowledge of the investigation, ESPN reports the players could be Hangzhou for "a week or two" while the situation is resolved. The source told ESPN there is surveillance footage of the players shoplifting from three stores inside a high-end retail center.

Bruins coach Steve Alford declined to discuss the matter after the team's victory. UCLA Chancellor Gene Block, athletic director Dan Guerrero and Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott have been traveling with the team, but only Scott has issued any statements.

"It has provided a real distraction and unwanted publicity, which distracts from what overall has been a tremendous experience and a tremendous week for the UCLA and Georgia Tech students," Scott said before the game. "We've had a chance to apologize for the unwelcome attention it has brought. There's nothing new. We're monitoring the situation and staying in close contact with the students, and we hope the situation resolves itself soon."

The conference said Friday that California and Yale will meet in next year's Pac-12 China game to open the 2018-19 season.